Sarcophagus
[sɑː'kɒfəgəs] or [sɑr'kɑfəgəs]
Definition
(noun.) a stone coffin (usually bearing sculpture or inscriptions).
Edited by Denny--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) A species of limestone used among the Greeks for making coffins, which was so called because it consumed within a few weeks the flesh of bodies deposited in it. It is otherwise called lapis Assius, or Assian stone, and is said to have been found at Assos, a city of Lycia.
(n.) A coffin or chest-shaped tomb of the kind of stone described above; hence, any stone coffin.
(n.) A stone shaped like a sarcophagus and placed by a grave as a memorial.
Checker: Mimi
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. Stone coffin.
Inputed by Emilia
Definition
n. a kind of limestone used by the Greeks for coffins and so called because it was thought to consume the flesh of corpses: any stone receptacle for a corpse: an 18th-century form of wine-cooler:—pl. Sarcoph′agī Sarcoph′aguses.
Checker: Shelia
Unserious Contents or Definition
n. Among the Greeks a coffin which being made of a certain kind of carnivorous stone had the peculiar property of devouring the body placed in it. The sarcophagus known to modern obsequiographers is commonly a product of the carpenter's art.
Inputed by Glenda
Examples
- There are names, and Christian symbols, and prayers, or sentences expressive of Christian hopes, carved upon nearly every sarcophagus. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- A great stone sarcophagus like a bath-tub stood in the centre of the King's Chamber. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Relief on the cover of the sarcophagus (at Cambridge). H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- There are two bronze skeletons bearing scrolls, and two great dragons uphold the sarcophagus. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Near by was the sarcophagus, lighted by the dripping candles. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- The sarcophagus separated in two parts, lengthwise, and the lower part sank down and disclosed a coffin of rock crystal as clear as the atmosphere. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
Editor: Noreen